


Something To Believe In

by ChronoPhantom



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, But I'd thought I'd tag them anways, F/F, Feral!Edelgard, Hilda's Brother is Mentioned, Most of the Black Eagles are Mentioned, after timeskip
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-15
Updated: 2020-01-15
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:22:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22264051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChronoPhantom/pseuds/ChronoPhantom
Summary: After nearly losing her Professor, Edelgard is torn between isolating herself from a world that she thinks used her or trusting the people she once completely cast aside. Luckily, Byleth is here to help her student find her way.
Relationships: Edelgard von Hresvelg/My Unit | Byleth
Kudos: 96





	Something To Believe In

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, readers! This is sort of a follow-up to my previous FE:3H work, A Broken Soul, as it takes place in the same world. This one is based on a certain event in the Azure Moon route (no spoilers, though). Some of the non-Black Eagles characters included are based on who I personally recruited in my playthroughs.
> 
> This particular fic was inspired by these two pics (credit of course, to the original artists):
> 
> https://twitter.com/softandworm/status/1206053356877369344?s=12  
> https://mobile.twitter.com/djuraaah/status/1216716951302459392
> 
> Once again, thank you for reading! Comments and kudos are appreciated! ^u^

The second Byleth heard Hilda scream, she knew she carried intention to kill.

As the pink-haired woman sprinted towards Edelgard, axe in hand, Byleth he could see it in her eyes, the feeling she so desperately wanted. Revenge for her brother, whom after being defeated, Edelgard threatened to torture, kill his remaining soldiers right in front of before she ripped out his eyes with her bare hands.

Thankfully, Holst never got to see any of that. One swift slash from the Sword of the Creator put an end to his misery.

But not that Hilda knew any of what had transpired. All she wanted, as far as Byleth could tell, was revenge towards possibly the most vicious, feral leader in all of Fódlan. 

But Byleth would never allow that to happen, she thought as she sprinted towards the duo, throwing the Sword of the Creator to the side. There was no time to block Hilda’s strike, Hilda had already swung her axe up. No matter how bloodthirsty Edelgard had grown, no matter how virulent her hatred was towards the Alliance and all of their soldiers, she was still her beloved student, and Byleth swore to stand by her side, something Byleth reminded herself as she threw herself in front of Edelgard and Hilda's axe.

“Edelgard!!” 

The second the axe swung down, a sharp pain ripped through Byleth’s shoulder and tore further downwards, into her upper chest. An arch of red flew out in front of both Byleth and a shocked Hilda, but somehow, Byleth managed to keep her balance as she eyed the Strike Force.

“Hubert! Do it now!” 

Without hesitating, Hubert’s pointed his arms forward, and his hands glowed a dark purple. From his palms purple orbs flew towards Hilda as Hubert unleashed Banshee on her, who let out a scream as the dark magic surged through her body. But as soon as they came, the screams died off as Hilda fell to the ground dead, her bloody axe landing next to her with a clatter.

“Professor!!” Edelgard’s scream was nearly lost as Byleth lost her balance and fell to her knees, blood spurting out from the newly created slash in her chest. Out of the corner of her eye, she could also see the equally horrified Black Eagle Strike Force. Dorothea's eyes were widened in horror, Petra had taken a step forward as if wanting to stop her fall, Bernadetta had her mouth cupped, Caspar, Sylvain, and Ingrid all had their mouths open as if to scream in sheer terror. But before Byleth could hit the cold ground, she felt something catch her, only to turn her body around. When Byleth opened her eyes, though blurry, she saw Edelgard staring at her, her remaining eye wide in horror and shock.

“Edelgard…are you alright?”

“Professor! W-Why...Why did you do that?!” Edelgard nearly yelled, the desperation very apparent in her voice. Her breathing grew rapid as she stared at her injured professor, her eye shrinking as blood started to seep from Byleth’s mouth.

Ever since reuniting with Edelgard in the Goddess Tower months ago, Byleth had never seen such strong emotion from her, aside from anger. Never did she show an ounce of hesitation or even remorse when cutting down her enemies, not when reuniting with her former classmates, and not even when she mercilessly killed people she once went to the academy with. She had almost been reduced to a rabid beast amidst her distrust and rage.

But now...seeing fear out of her now felt like the first time Byleth ever saw it out of her.

“Y-You’re...alright?” Byleth let out a breath of relief as her slowly fluttered shut briefly. “Thank goodness…”

“Please, Professor...you must hang on!” 

Oddly enough, Byleth felt something warm in her chest amidst a growing numbness. A sense of relief at seeing Edelgard’s old self break through ever so slightly, perhaps? She couldn’t begin to describe it. But the smallest of smiles stretched across her face as she raised one hand to Edelgard, who immediately grasped it.

“It’s alright, Edelgard. You don’t have to worry. I'm glad...that you're safe. That goes...for the rest goes for the Strike Force. They're your friends...and they always will be. For you...and for all of my students...I would gladly risk my life.”

“No! No, no, no! You can't say that! Please, don't leave me!"

Despite wanting to give Edelgard reassurance, Byleth found herself unable to - the numbness had nearly consumed every feeling in her body. Byleth felt heavy, as if the entire monastery had collapsed on her, but 

As much as she tried to keep her eyes open for her student, Byleth's eyes slowly fluttered shut, with a desperate Edelgard being the last thing she saw before falling into darkness.

\- - - - - - - -

The second Byleth closed her eyes, Edelgard felt the entire world crash around her.

“Professor?” She shook Byleth’s shoulders. “Wake up! Please!”

But Byleth didn’t answer, instead, only the sound of Edelgard’s sobs filled the air.

Pain crept and crawled from the darkest depths of Edelgard’s heart as she let out a choked sob, clutching her professor’s body close to her chest. Crimson quickly started to stain Edelgard’s jet black armor, all while tears Edelgard had long forgotten fell freely from her eye.

“No…” Her voice was reduced to a near-silent whisper as the tears flowed endlessly. When was the last time she felt utter despair such as this? Seeing every one of her siblings die or lose their mind was bad. Seeing Claude’s betrayal down in the Holy Tomb was worse. Even when she spotted Byleth falling down the ravine, Edelgard’s pain was nothing compared to right now.

The person she once lost and who had found her again was gone. For a moment, Edelgard found herself whispering to the Goddess, something she almost never did. But she found herself doing it now, her voice a desperate plea.

“Please...don’t take her, too…”

“Edelgard…” Edelgard barely heard Ferdinand’s voice behind her and the sound of approaching footsteps amidst her despair. She didn’t need to look to know it was the rest of the Black Eagle Strike Force. 

“What do you want?!” She snapped suddenly, not even bothering to turn around and look at her comrades. Bernadetta took an uneasy step back, all while the rest of the group looked at one another anxiously, only for Linhardt of all people to speak up. 

“Let me help.” He took a step forward, towards Byleth. His hand glowed a pale green with healing magic, only for Edelgard to slap it away viciously.

“Don’t touch her!” It was only now that she turned to face her comrades, and her face was warped in a violent snarl.

“What else can you do?! She’s gone because of me...all because...I wasn’t strong enough.” Edelgard turned to look at her professor once again. Her expression was so peaceful, save for the trickle of blood that trailed down her mouth and chin. For a moment, Edelgard thought she could fool herself into thinking that her professor was just sleeping instead of dead. Once again, Edelgard felt the despair flood her heart and mind, but she didn’t fight it. 

"Why must the Goddess take everyone I love from me?!"

Sobbing, Edelgard once again hugged her professor close to her, the tears falling endlessly from her eye and onto the ground. Behind her, Linhardt, Hubert, not even the social butterfly Dorothea dared to say anything out of fear of making Edelgard’s emotional torment worse.

But without warning, a cough interrupted Edelgard’s sobs. She gasped, and when the cough stopped, labored, almost whisper-like breathing took its place. When Edelgard looked down, she saw Byleth’s chest rising up and down - slowly, but indicative of life. Her sobs quickly died out in favor of a gasp, but Edelgard’s hug on her Professor only tightened. Behind her, the Black Eagle Strike Force watched in a mix of silent relief and uneasiness, until one member stepped forward.

“Edelgard…?” Dorothea asked gently, refraining from using her usual nickname. “It’s alright. We can help her. But will you let us, please?”

Edelgard found herself silent at Dorothea’s question. Her eye scanned not just her, but Hubert, Ferdinand, and the rest of the Strike Force. In both her mind and heart, she felt torn. On one hand, she felt a tinge of guilt creep into her heart, which slowly started to bleed. From the look in their eyes, everyone in the strike force showed genuine worry and fear. Even with her harsh and rather cruel treatment, they didn't show any kind of anger towards her. There was shock of course, but no anger or fury as far as Edelgard could tell.

But on the other, for the past five years, she thought she couldn’t trust any of them. Ever since Claude declared war, that’s what Edelgard had always known. Everyone she had ever known, her friendships with them were never genuine. That’s how it always was, after all. She was only ever used by others. She was used as a child, and even now, she was used.

But now, she would have to put faith in the people she practically despised for years if it meant saving Byleth’s life. 

“A-Alright,” Edelgard answered shakily after what felt like an eternity of silence. She then slowly set her Professor down, to which Dorothea and Linhardt briskly made their way over to, hands glowing with healing magic. All Edelgard could do was step back, and she winced her good eye shut. In her mind, she silentlys tarted to pray, pray to the Goddess that she not take her Professor like she did her siblings.

She couldn’t bear to see her die like they did.

\- - - - - - - -

The next time Byleth saw Edelgard, it was raining. 

The first thing she felt upon waking up was a sharp pain in her chest, and then she heard Dorothea’s worried voice, followed by Linhardt. Somehow, despite the slash being quite deep, she and Linhardt had barely managed to heal her enough to ensure her survival. Byleth knew she had taught them well if they could save her life after such a deep slash.

But when she asked them about Edelgard, the two of them looked at each other, clearly hesitating. Against Linhardt and Dorothea’s advice to rest, Byleth got up to look for her. She had gone asking everyone if they had seen her (her hair quickly growing soaked), and thankfully, Shamir and Petra had spotted her in the stable. And it was in the stable where Byleth found her standing alone, her posture hunched and her snow-white hair soaked in the downpour. 

“Edelgard?”

The young woman instantly turned at hearing the familiar voice. Her single eye widened upon seeing her Professor who was nearly dead only hours ago.

"Professor." Her face, despite appearing with relief initially, was quickly replaced with guilt as Edelgard looked away.

"What do you want?"

Byleth took a step towards her student, who did not, or rather, refused to move. "What are you doing?"

Edelgard did not turn around. "It's none of your business."

"Yes, it is." Byleth's voice was firm, yet quiet.

Edelgard nearly flinched at her Professor's words. For a brief moment, Byleth could see her body tremble. Whether it was from the rain or something else, she couldn't tell.

"Just...leave me alone." Edelgard's voice carried a newfound sadness, as if she was refraining herself from crying. A similar feeling of sorrow entered Byleth's chest just listening to her. She couldn't bear to see her student act like this, alone in the rain when she needed someone more than ever. After taking a breath, Byleth stepped to where she could see Edelgard's face. 

Her white hair clung to her wet face as if for dear life, and her intact eye had turned red from crying. The crimson fur that usually puffed from her cape had flattened down her shoulders, rain dribbling off them endlessly. But most of all, Edelgard's mouth had turned downwards into a deep frown, a frown that carried unrelenting guilt and sadness. 

"Do you think that isolating yourself from the others will help you be at peace?"

Edelgard's breaths hitched at Byleth's question, her eye going to the ground. Her face carried an intense look of uneasiness, and her breathing started to grow shakier by the minute. After a good bout of silence, Edelgard finally spoke.

"What other option do I have anymore? I'm nothing but a pawn. A broken little puppet on stage."

Byleth nearly fell silent. "Edelgard..."

"All my life, I've only ever been used. Used in those horrid Crest experimentations, used during our time in the academy, all of it." Her tone was at first stern, but it quickly faded as sadness started to bleed into her voice. "Nothing in my life has ever been genuine. Everyone only ever acted nice to me, and grew not to trust anyone. Not the Black Eagles, not Claude or Dimitri, everything in my life has just been a fake."

"So I don't have a choice anymore. I-I..." Her voice started to quiver, and Byleth noticed something forming in the corner of her eye - tears, which slowly trickled down her face, blending seamlessly into the rain as Edelgard's voice choked into a sob.

"I don't want to be used anymore." 

Byleth felt her heart shatter upon hearing Edelgard's rather tearful words. She had never seen Edelgard cry like this, not in front of the other Black Eagles or even in front of her. But she was, and it was now that Byleth saw the full extent of her student's pain.

Everything in her life was just a fake. She had only ever been used, and though Edelgard tried to mask it with anger and virulent hatred, deep down, it really did hurt her. To lose her siblings to death or madness, that nearly drove her despair. To think that everyone she had ever known was lying, that destroyed her trust in them. To Edelgard, the entire world had practically turned against her, and the only way she could ever hope to avoid any further heartbreak was to isolate herself from everything and everyone entirely. 

Or so she thought. 

"Edelgard." Byleth slowly extended her hands out to her student, reaching both sides of her soaked face. Upon feeling her Professor's hands, Edelgard slowly reached one hand up to grab it.

"You will never be used again, Edelgard. So long as I live, you will never be alone. You will always have me at your side, no matter how many enemies you should amass."

"Professor..." Edelgard whispered.

"But you must know that I am not the only one at your side. The rest of the Black Eagles stand by you as well. Your friendships with all of them is real, and it always will be." 

"But...what if they don't trust in me anymore?" Edelgard asked worriedly. "I turned my back to them, and I only saw them as fakers. Liars. How can they ever trust me again?"

Byleth shook her head. "Even if you turned your back against them before, they haven't lost hope. They hope and believe that you will lead them and the Empire to victory against the Alliance. You must believe in them as well, Edelgard. You must fight for what you believe in, whether it be me, the Black Eagles, or the Empire."

Edelgard was silent as she processed Byleth's words. In Byleth's heart, she hoped that even just a little bit, her words would reach Edelgard. She would never be alone or used again, so long as the Black Eagle Strike Force and her loyal Professor were by her side. And no matter what, Byleth would continue to guide her down her path, the path to end the Alliance's conquest across Fodlan and rebuild the Empire. 

Though Edelgard's silence persisted, Byleth soon heard a gentle sigh. It sounded wistful, melancholy amidst the downpour.

"Your hands...they're so warm." Byleth felt a gentle press as Edelgard leaned her face against her Professor's hand, her hand gently gripping Byleth's. Though Edelgard's armored gloves felt cold against Byleth's hands, she hardly felt it.

"Have they always...felt this way?" 

Byleth said nothing in reply, only watching as Edelgard let out another sigh, which sounded calmer as she presumably felt the warmth in her Professor's hand. For the first time in what appeared to be endless fighting, Edelgard looked at ease. Not entirely content, but nonetheless relaxed.

And though Byleth knew the fighting was far from over, she was content, knowing that for now, she was able to help her student find her way again.


End file.
